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Season 7
Saturday Night Live aired its seventh season in 1981, ending in 1982. Many changes were made in this season, as many cast members were removed, and many added. During this season, former castmember John Belushi died from an overdose of cocaine and heroin in 1982. History The season was the first full season for new producer Dick Ebersol, who brought in an almost entirely new cast. Also joining the show was head writer Michael O'Donoghue. Tempers began to flare, however, due to O'Donoghue's angry and belligerent style. The previous season, he had scared Catherine O'Hara off the show before her first episode; during the first part of the season, most of the cast took a strong dislike to him and the other writers. Tim Kazurinsky contemplated quitting, only to be talked out by former SNL castmember John Belushi.Live From New York: An Uncensored History Of Saturday Night Live At a pre-Christmas break meeting to discuss constructive criticism, which O'Donoghue was excluded from but showed up anyway, O'Donoghue ranted against the current cast, telling Mary Gross that she was "so untalented that she should be selling shoes" and shouting that Eddie Murphy needed acting lessons. Tired of his style and the problems he was causing, Ebersol fired him in short order, and he was gone by the first episode in January.Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live In an attempt to reinvent the show, the opening format was significantly changed. Original announcer Don Pardo was dropped before the season, and another network announcer, Mel Brandt, started the show instead. (Pardo would return for the following season, though Brandt would continue contributing voiceovers for sketches for many years.) Also gone were the cold open sketches, replaced often by title card gags listing a fictional sponsor. The opening sketches later returned, but the classic "live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" wasn't heard again until the following season. Most of the cast had been hired for the last episode of the previous season, but there were two additions: Mary Gross and Christine Ebersole. Brian Doyle-Murray, who had gone from writer, to featured player in season 5, to writer in season 6, was re-promoted to featured player, of which he was the only one. Murray hosted the news segment, retitled SNL Newsbreak. Due to creative differences, Tony Rosato, Christine Ebersole, and Brian Doyle-Murray were let go at the end of the season. Cast Repertory Featuring 180px|link=Brian Doyle-Murray Episode Guide *October 3, 1981: No host / Rod Stewart *October 10, 1981: Susan Saint James / The Kinks *October 17, 1981: George Kennedy / Miles Davis *October 31, 1981: Donald Pleasence / Fear *November 7, 1981: Lauren Hutton / Rick James & The Stone City Band *November 14, 1981: Bernadette Peters / The Go-Go's, Billy Joel *December 5, 1981: Tim Curry / Meatloaf & The Neverland Express *December 12, 1981: Bill Murray / The Spinners, Yale Whiffenpoofs *January 23, 1982: Robert Conrad / The Allman Brothers Band *January 30, 1982: John Madden / Jennifer Holliday *February 6, 1982: James Coburn / Lindsey Buckingham *February 20, 1982: Bruce Dern / Luther Vandross *February 27, 1982: Elizabeth Ashley / Hall & Oates *March 20, 1982: Robert Urich / Mink Deville *March 27, 1982: Blythe Danner / Rickie Lee Jones *April 10, 1982: Daniel J. Travanti / John Cougar *April 17, 1982: Johnny Cash / Elton John *April 24, 1982: Robert Culp / Charlie Daniels Band *May 15, 1982: Danny Devito / Sparks *May 22, 1982: Olivia Newton-John / The Saturday Night Live Band The May 22 show credited the SNL Band as the musical guest, though it was host Olivia Newton-John who performed the musical numbers. Births Vanessa Bayer (November 14, 1981) Nasim Pedrad (November 18, 1981) John Milhiser (November 29, 1981) Alex Moffat & Jenny Slate (March 25, 1982) Taran Killam (April 1, 1982) Colin Jost (June 29, 1982) Deaths John Belushi (March 5, 1982) Gallery file:Murray-newsbreak.png|Brian Doyle-Murray on SNL Newsbreak file:S7|Opening theme used for this season file:Falling letters|The first edition of SNL Newsbreak, October 3, 1981. An example of the "falling letters" gag. file:Single|Christine Ebersole performs Single Women on the October 10, 1981 episode. file:Newsbreak|Technical problems on the March 27, 1982 broadcast, Ebersole's first as co-anchor References Navigation * Category:Seasons